THE GAME Braves 7, Phillies 4 Greg Dobbs delivered a three-run, pinch-hit home run in the ninth inning, but the Phillies lost for the seventh time in 10 games. Dobbs had missed the last four games with a jammed left wrist. Phillies prospect J.A. Happ allowed two runs in five innings but fell to 0-2 this spring. THE STRANGENESS OF SPRING A sellout crowd and ESPN television audience watched Happ face Braves right-hander Kyle Davies at Bright House Networks Field on Friday.

The state Lottery yesterday announced caps on payouts in the Daily Number and Big 4 games. Under the changes, the maximum amount the state will pay out as prizes for a Daily Number drawing is $45 million dollars. The cap for the Big 4 drawing is $45 million dollars. Executive Director Jim Scroggins said the changes will help protect the lottery fund by limiting the state's liability when there is heavy betting on any one number. "Heavy play on some three-digit numbers on occasion has taken the lottery's prize liability to sums that could jeopardize the fund should that number hit," he said.

LINES OF THE DAY "He hits third in the Yankee lineup, doesn't he? That says something. People in Philadelphia asked me why I hit him third. That just goes to show you [Yankees manager] Joe Torre and I have something in common." CHARLIE MANUEL Phillies manager when asked about Yankees right fielder and former Phillie Bobby Abreu's skills. THE GAME Yankees 2, Phillies 0 The Phillies managed just three hits against five Yankees pitchers, falling to 7-13-1 this spring. Shane Victorino had two of the Phillies' hits to raise his spring average to .429.

THE GAME Phillies 4, Red Sox 4 (10 innings) Karim Garcia's RBI single in the seventh inning gave the Phillies a tie against Boston. He finished the game 3-for-4. Chase Utley added a two-run home run. He has reached base safely in 15 straight games. LINE OF THE DAY "Some days you fall into it." JAMIE MOYER Phillies left-hander who isn't considered a strikeout pitcher, on whiffing seven batters in five innings Thursday. UP NEXT The Phillies host the Braves this afternoon at Bright House Networks Field.

Joe Passaro plays the lottery's additional daily drawing out of fear. "I'm afraid if I don't play and my number comes in, I'll be heartbroken," said Passaro, a clerk at Dale's A Plus Mini Market on Mauch Chunk Road in South Whitehall Township. Passaro can fret no more. State officials said Wednesday they will discontinue the special promotional midday drawing of the Big 4 and Daily Number on Friday, as expected, after a month's run. The regular 7 p.m. drawing of the two popular games will continue.

Michael Goida of Andreas, Schuylkill County, is one of 10 Pennsylvania Lottery instant game finalists from around the state who compete for $1,000 a week for life Sunday at Penn National Race Course. The finalists will select placards containing concealed numbers corresponding to the post positions of the horses in the third race. The numbers will be revealed as the horses enter the starting gate. The official race results will determine the order of finish and prize won by each finalist.

A local woman is a little bit richer today. Ruth Hamburger of Quakertown beat the odds to win $5,000 in last night's Pennsylvania Lottery Million Dollar Spin Game. But as to what Hamburger thinks of her luck, she's not saying. Hamburger declined to comment on her good fortune before the spin and could not be reached after the broadcast. She was one of 10 finalists in yesterday's game. As a finalist, she automatically received $5,000. Hamburger, however, came closer than most to the jackpot.

On June 27, Pennsylvania celebrated the one-year anniversary of its involvement in the Powerball drawing. I find the timing of this anniversary very interesting, considering the recent vote in the state Senate in favor of slot machines at the state's horse racing tracks. What interests me are the claims by those opposing the slots that the social ills created by gambling could easily outweigh the benefits. These claims couldn't be more hypocritical. According to an on-line gaming newsletter, in its inaugural year, Pennsylvanians spent $232.

There are no snowmen, ice sculptures or skating rinks in the area's winter wonderland at the moment. Instead, you'll find crowded tee boxes, lush fairways and inviting greens as golfers swarm area courses to take full advantage of ideal playing conditions. "It's like Myrtle Beach in March around here right now," raved Bethlehem Golf Course manager Tom Berback. "This has been a Godsend. I'm sure every other golf manager in the area has the same joyful tone to their voice." That they do -- thanks to the blue skies, limited wind and temperatures consistently in the upper 50s that have transformed the Lehigh Valley area into an unexpected, but welcome, winter golf haven.

On June 27, Pennsylvania celebrated the one-year anniversary of its involvement in the Powerball drawing. I find the timing of this anniversary very interesting, considering the recent vote in the state Senate in favor of slot machines at the state's horse racing tracks. What interests me are the claims by those opposing the slots that the social ills created by gambling could easily outweigh the benefits. These claims couldn't be more hypocritical. According to an on-line gaming newsletter, in its inaugural year, Pennsylvanians spent $232.

To Martin Kuhns, the time he spent playing and organizing pools for the Pennsylvania Lottery was like a second job. At times it has paid off. In the past two years, Kuhns' "Schnecksville Seven," as he calls the group he organized about 21/2 years ago, has won more than $9,000. But the group hit it big in May when it won the state's Cash 5 jackpot of $289,118. On Tuesday, lottery officials formerly presented the Schnecksville Seven -- Kuhns; his wife, La-Ead; Barbara Ann Halkias; Patricia Frey; Pamela Buss; Ronny Shea; and Robert Clarke -- with their prizes at a ceremony at the Deli Mart in South Whitehall Township where the winning tickets were purchased.

On the same day last month, Santiago Garcia and Roberto Cruz made their usual trips to the Silver Coin restaurant on Broadway in Bethlehem. Each selected five numbers and bought a Cash 5 Pennsylvania Lottery ticket. Until March 16, the visits to Martha Lentz's tiny restaurant were about the only thing that linked the men, who live in Bethlehem. But on Friday, the state announced that Garcia, 67, and Cruz, 45, now are linked in lottery history. They had chosen the same five numbers -- 7, 9, 17, 29 and 31 -- and those numbers were the winners.